It turned out that they couldn't have lunch outside. Gu Liyue said goodbye to Qin Caiyin and took Gu Chengzhi back home, complaining about him all the way.
"Why aren't you on duty today? Why are you just wandering around outside?"
Gu Chengzhi shrank his neck. "I'm not on duty today. I remembered the wrong date... Didn't you say last time that the dim - sums in Fengyun Pavilion were delicious? I came here to buy some for you..."
Gu Liyue couldn't bear to blame him. After thinking for a while, she said, "Forget it. The princess has been living in the palace these days. When she leaves the palace later, you should apologize to her properly. Fourth brother, I know that Princess Yunxi has a reckless personality, but after all, she is a young lady. Fourth brother, you should be more careful when getting along with her in the future. You can't treat her like a boy."
Gu Chengzhi mumbled in agreement. He went home with his sister and found that there was a guest at home. It was Mrs. Qin.
This was a regular visitor, so it wasn't surprising. After the commotion today, Gu Chengzhi was in a bad mood. After greeting Mrs. Qin, he went back to his own courtyard.
Gu Liyue looked up. Since Mrs. Qin was a regular visitor, usually only her second aunt would accompany her when she came. But today, not only were they in the main hall, but her eldest aunt was also there.
Mrs. Qin waved. "Liyue is back? Come here. Why did you come back so early? Weren't you going to the teahouse to listen to storytelling?"
With a guest around, Gu Liyue didn't explain much. She just said, "It's okay. I just didn't like the food outside, so I came back."
Mrs. Qin rolled her eyes and grabbed Gu Liyue. "Liyue, you've been with Caiyin these days. How is she now?"
Gu Liyue was confused. "She's fine. We just separated. She's gone home."
Mrs. Qin smiled. "She said she likes to play with you and likes it at the Gu family's place."
Gu Liyue was even more confused. Qin Caiyin liked excitement. The Gu family members were all kind. Since there were no young ladies in the family, the Qin sisters often came to play, but it was inconvenient for them to live there permanently. Did it mean that she liked it even more now that she could live at the Gu family's?
She nodded. "Yes, Caiyin said she wished she could live in our house all the time."
Mrs. Qin was overjoyed. She exchanged glances with Mrs. Jiang and Mrs. Qin. "Did she really say that? Caiyin likes you and also likes to be with the young masters of the Gu family, right?"
Gu Liyue nodded. "The elder brothers are so nice. Who wouldn't like them?"
Mrs. Qin stroked Gu Liyue's hand, feeling extremely content. She had always been very satisfied with her nephew Gu Chengzhi. It was just that the two children were not old enough before. Now that they had grown up, if they really had feelings for each other, how could the elders not agree?
The Qin family's social status was a bit lower, but the two ladies of the Gu family were not snobbish. Her two daughters had excellent characters. She wasn't afraid that the two ladies of the Gu family would be picky. Moreover, the second branch of the Gu family would separate sooner or later. Caiyin was a perfect match for Chengzhi.
Mrs. Qin was still a bit worried and asked, "Why did your fourth brother come back so early?"
Gu Liyue mumbled and didn't tell the elders that her fourth brother had hurt Lu Yunxi. She just said, "Fourth brother... uh, met us on the way, so he came back with us."
Her vague answer had a special meaning in front of the three elders.
After Gu Liyue left, Mrs. Qin immediately called a maid in. "How did the young lady and the cousin meet the fourth young master when they went out to play today?"
The maid answered honestly. "Princess Yunxi bullied the cousin. The fourth young master happened to see it. He got angry for a moment and fought with Princess Yunxi."
Lu Yunxi and Gu Chengzhi had been playing together since childhood, and such commotions had happened more than once. The Gu family didn't really care. But the fact that Gu Chengzhi fought with Lu Yunxi for Qin Caiyin had a special meaning.
Mrs. Qin was excited for a moment. She grabbed Mrs. Jiang. "Sister - in - law, did you hear that? Chengzhi has finally come to his senses."
Mrs. Jiang pondered for a moment and asked, "After all, this is a lifelong event for the two children. If they are willing, how could I be dissatisfied? But have you all thought it through?"
Mrs. Qin covered her mouth and laughed. "What haven't I thought through? Although Caiyin is not as steady as Yuyin, she is also extremely outstanding. I've watched her grow up, and I really like her from the bottom of my heart. How could I be dissatisfied?"
Seeing that they were all willing, Mrs. Jiang nodded. "Fine, let's do it like this for now. But since Chengan's marriage hasn't been settled yet, we can't settle Chengzhi's first."
Mrs. Qin nodded. "I understand. I'm just telling sister - in - law first. Otherwise, if such a good daughter - in - law slips away, I'll have to cry."
The three of them chatted and laughed, and the marriage was settled.
Mrs. Qin let out a sigh of relief after leaving the house. She said to the nanny, "I was so worried the other day when I heard that Caiyin met the third young master of the Jiang family privately twice."
The nanny smiled. "Madam, you're just over - worrying. The third young lady is very sensible. How could she do such an out - of - line thing?"
Mrs. Qin nodded. "You're right. But after all, she's my own flesh and blood. I've had this idea for a long time. I just didn't mention it because I thought the eldest lady of the Gu family wasn't interested. Speaking of which, Yuyin would be lucky to marry into the Gu family. There's no other family as kind as the Gu family in the whole capital. Now that Caiyin can also marry into the Gu family, I can finally put my heart at ease."
The nanny frowned and thought for a while. Then she said, "But Madam, don't let your guard down. The second young lady of our family is still unmarried. The other side is also eyeing the Gu family closely. They wish they could stuff their daughters in."
The second branch of the Qin family had been away for many years and only came back two years ago. The second madam always complained about the hardships they had suffered outside. And the old madam doted on her youngest son, so she always asked them to give in to the second branch. Yuyin's marriage was a sure thing, but Caiyin's marriage hadn't been completely settled yet.
Mrs. Qin nodded. "I know what I'm doing. Don't tell anyone about today's matter. Just act like you don't know. If someone asks later, just say that we were afraid that the marriage wouldn't work out and it would ruin Caiyin's reputation."
Gu Liyue knew nothing about what had happened in the front hall. She only got the news at night. It was said that after Lu Yunxi returned to the palace, she cried for a full two hours. She refused to eat the medicinal diet and didn't say a word. She smashed all the teacups in the room and didn't let the imperial doctor approach. She just cried alone in the room in great distress.
The Empress Dowager was so worried and angry that she fell ill. The emperor sent people to investigate and found out that Lu Yunxi had been wronged by Gu Chengzhi today. It was a great grievance. It was said that she was seriously injured and couldn't even get out of bed.
Gu Zhongxian was furious. He picked up a wooden stick and whipped Gu Chengzhi hard on the back. "You unfilial son. I could overlook your previous commotions, but how dare you bully the princess? She's a delicate girl, and you beat her so badly that she can't get out of bed? You're really capable!"
Gu Chengzhi howled in pain. "Where is she delicate? She bullied Caiyin first... Dad, stop hitting me. I know I was wrong. I know I was wrong..."
Gu Zhongxian was so angry that he was out of his mind. "You still dare to talk back? I'll beat you to death today!"
Gu Liyue rushed over and quickly stopped Gu Zhongxian. "Second uncle, today's incident was really a misunderstanding. Princess Yunxi was just playing with Caiyin. Fourth brother thought we were being bullied, so he stepped forward to defend us. Princess Yunxi left in a hurry. Fourth brother originally planned to apologize to her properly when he met her later."